A New View: SLUCare Ophthalmology

The eyes are our windows to the world, and anything obstructing that view can diminish
our quality of life. Shireen Qalbani, 67, had poor peripheral vision and was avoiding
night driving, all because of her droopy eyelids. Searching for a solution, she turned
to Dr. Gabriela Espinoza, a SLUCare Physician Group ophthalmologist and ocular plastic surgeon.

Espinoza, whose focus is entirely on the eyes, recommended an upper eyelid blepharoplasty, a surgical eyelid repair. "In the upper eyelid, the procedure can get rid of excess
skin that causes wrinkles or a fullness of the eyelid," Espinoza notes. "In the lower
eyelid, it can get rid of bags, smooth out wrinkles and help with dark circles."

The extra skin can act like a baseball cap, which can cause people to have trouble
seeing above them. I've had patients who regularly bump into cabinets or doors because
they just don't see them.”

Many of Espinoza's patients land in her office wanting a cosmetic fix, but often they
end up with functional improvements, too. And although blepharoplasties are not normally
covered by insurance, if it's done to improve peripheral vision, like in Qalbani's
case, an exception is sometimes made. "The extra skin can act like a baseball cap,
which can cause people to have trouble seeing above them. I've had patients who regularly
bump into cabinets or doors because they just don't see them," Espinoza says. "They
may have difficulty reading for long periods of time or keeping their eyes open at
night. These patients tend to compensate by lifting their eyebrows, which can be exhausting."

The goal with eyelid surgery is to achieve a natural look, says Espinoza, who strives
to provide completely individualized care. "Every person's body is different, everyone's
eyes are different," she explains. "I want to give patients a natural look that doesn't
look overdone — like you've just had a wonderful vacation. It's a subtle change, but
it makes people appear happier, rested and relaxed."

The results are great, and I feel that it's helped psychologically.”

That's exactly the result she achieved with Clifford Aerie, who had both his upper
and lower eyelids repaired a few years ago. "He had excess skin and droopiness of
the upper eyelids, which was impairing his peripheral vision, and he also had fairly
pronounced bags, so I did a complete eyelid makeover," Espinoza says. Aerie reports
that Espinoza immediately put him at ease. "We talked about that people are how they
feel about themselves," he says. "I found I was beginning to not look people in the
eye." Afterward, Aerie told Espinoza that his friends couldn't even tell that he'd
had surgery — they just thought he looked well-rested. "The results are great, and
I feel that it's helped psychologically," he adds.

For Qalbani, having her eyelids repaired has made a huge difference. "My peripheral
vision was getting worse," she says. "My eyes are so much more open now — I'm in heaven.
Dr. Espinoza told me I could call her anytime, but I don't need to because it looks
so beautiful."